How To Fix COM_PRCAT057 - Objects of this category already exist: Reference indicator cannot be set

COM_PRCAT057 - Overview

• Message type: E = Error

• Message class: COM_PRCAT - Product Category

• Message number: 057

• Message text: Objects of this category already exist: Reference indicator cannot be set

What causes this issue?

Objects of the category '&V1&' already exist, so the reference indicator
cannot be set for the assignment of the set type '&V2&' .

System Response

The system issues an error message and will not allow you to continue with this transaction until the error is resolved.

How to fix this error?

Procedure for System Administrators

Error message extract from SAP system. Copyright SAP SE.

COM_PRCAT057 - Details

• The SAP error message COM_PRCAT057 indicates that there is an attempt to set a reference indicator for an object in a category where objects of that category already exist. This typically occurs in the context of managing product categories or similar structures in SAP, particularly in the SAP Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) or SAP Material Management (MM) modules.
  
  Cause:
  The error is triggered when:
  
  You are trying to create or modify an object (like a material or a product) and set it as a reference object.
  There are already existing objects in the same category that do not have the reference indicator set.
  The system does not allow multiple objects in the same category to be marked as reference objects.
  
  
  Solution:
  To resolve this error, you can take the following steps:
  
  
  Check Existing Objects: 
  
  Review the existing objects in the category to see if any of them are already set as reference objects. You can do this by